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Asked by Anon to Jean-François, Floris, Delma, Claudie, Beth, Adrian on 30 Dec 2015.
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Adrianos Golemis answered on 30 Dec 2015:
Hello! Yes, indeed you might feel a bit ill when you first enter into space, mostly because of the lack of gravity. Our bodies have evolved to perform optimally on the Earth, with gravity. So when you are in orbit, a lot of things change: for example, our blood tends to accumulate in the top of the body, this causes swelling. Why does this occur? Because on the Earth our body makes an “effort” to pump the blood up from the bottom of our feet and return it to our heart when we are standing (since gravity is pulling it down). In space our body does the same – at first at least. That is why more blood accumulates on the head and upper torso of Astronauts during their first hours and days in orbit. The human body gradually adapts and liquids are reallocated in a balanced way in the body after the first few days – but the Astronaut will most likely have suffered a few bad headaches by then 🙂 Sleeping is also harder in space and can contribute to feeling sick or uneasy. What is more, the immune system also functions differently and Astronauts are more prone to infections.
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Jean-François Clervoy answered on 18 Jan 2016:
Hi,
Unfortunately half of most crews typically feel more or less nauseous after reaching space, similarly to seasickness, and half of those end up vomiting, but in all cases, the symptoms disappear totally after few days at most. And there is no way to predict who will be sick since no strong evidence has been found for a given individual between their motion sickness sensitivity on Earth and in space. Personally, I am easily seasick on Earth but felt very well in space. Fortunately, bodies can recall their previous space experience, so astronauts who are sick at the beginning of their first spaceflight are less sick on each subsequent flight.
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